Where She Went From There
by See Jane Write
Summary: After her departure in Fear, Elizabeth Corday returns to England where she meets up with Rupert Giles who would like her to work as part of the medical team for the new Watcher's Council. Chapter Seven up.
1. Chapter One

Where She Went From There

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, mythology, whatever from _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_ nor do I own Elizabeth Corday or Ella from _ER._

Elizabeth Corday looked around once more in shock at the London airport. She had always known it to be large, but this amount of chaos going on around her was just insanity. Clutching tightly to her young daughter's hand, Elizabeth rushed down to the baggage claim to get her two suitcases

"Mommy, what are we doing here?" Ella asked curiously as she held on tightly to her doll. She looked up at her mother with wide eyes as she struggled to stay with the woman through the chaos of all the fight's passengers reaching over her head for their bags.

Elizabeth sighed as she reached for the larger of her suitcases, holding it in her Ella-less hand. "I told you, honey. Mummy's getting another job in England."

"Why?" Ella asked in the same eager voice as she had before.

"Because we need to have a way to get money so we can have a place to live, food to eat, clothes to wear" Elizabeth answered exhaustedly. She loved her daughter very much, but she could not help but getting annoyed with the child at times.

"Why here?" Ella asked as her mother grabbed the other suitcase and began dragging her away from the baggage claim. The airport was beginning to freak Elizabeth out, especially with the fact that it was already dark and it was very crowded.

"Because this is Mummy's home."

Ella giggled. "You're silly," she began. "This is where the airplanes live," she said confidently. "And you're a doctor," she reminded Elizabeth.

"I was a doctor," Elizabeth corrected. "Now I don't know what I am," she whispered sadly to herself. She knew at heart it was her fault. Carter might have influenced her decision to perform that surgery, but in the end it was her choice. Granted she would not have made that choice if she knew it would have these outcomes, but it was her choice nonetheless.

"You're the bestest mommy," Ella offered as she wrapped her arms around her mother's waist.

"Now you just want candy," Elizabeth said with a sigh as she walked out of the airport, searching frantically for a taxi or something. Something that would get her away from the airport. Too many people, she decided. Too much chaos like back at County.

The next couple minutes reminded Elizabeth even more of County. A woman was screaming and screaming quite loudly at that. She was close by too, Elizabeth noted. For no sane reason she could think of, Elizabeth began searching the sidewalk outside the airport to find where the screaming was coming from. Upon spotting it, she grabbed closer to Ella as she began rushing over to the woman.

"What's going on?" she asked frantically as she bent down to the victim. Two, deep holes penetrated the young woman's- Elizabeth placed her age at no more than twenty- skin near the base of her neck. Blood was still dripping out from the wound and the woman's face was turning paler.

Elizabeth quickly tore a small bit of fabric from her shirt off and applied it firmly to the woman's neck. "Did someone call a hospital?" she asked the older man in front of her who was watching desperately as Elizabeth continued applying pressure to the woman's neck. "She needs some medical help. Blood's having a hard time clotting and she may need a rabies treatment depending on what bit her."

The man nodded as he removed his glasses from his face and began cleaning them with his shirt. "Are you a doctor?" he asked curiously.

Ella nodded enthusiastically. "My mommy's the bestest doctor at County," she spoke up. "Until she caught it on fire or something like that."

"Beg pardon?" the man asked.

"Keep applying pressure to her neck until the EMTs arrive here," Elizabeth commanded as she stood up, grabbing her two suitcases. "Come on, Ella, we're out of here," she said briskly as she began walking, her daughter following close behind.

"Do as she said," the man said to another female standing next to him. That female nodded and did as commanded while the man began chasing after Elizabeth. "Miss?" he called as he caught up to her, tapping her shoulder once.

Elizabeth gave a mental groan as she turned around coming face to face with the man. The man's glasses were back on his face, she noted. "Yes?" she asked.

"Are you a doctor?" the man repeated his earlier question.

Elizabeth laughed slightly. "What are you doing here?" she asked. "Did the government send you here?"

"No, I'd rather think not," the man answered honestly. "Answer the question."

"Why do you want to know?" Elizabeth asked as she placed the suitcases down against the sidewalk.

"I'm with an organization and its quite large and going to be powerful if it gets started. But it would require someone with more medical experience than I can offer," the man explained.

Elizabeth looked at the man with a newfound respect as she thought his words over. "Are you offering me a job?" she asked doubtfully.

"From what you demonstrated back there, you're someone we could use," the man began. "You are a doctor, right?" he asked. "Or did you just spend too much time watching doctor shows on that idiot box?"

"Surgeon, actually," Elizabeth finally answered as she wrapped a protective arm around Ella and pulled her daughter in closer to her. "But I should warn you that I've been stripped of my license."

The man's eyebrows raised slightly at her last statement and he looked at her with a questioning glance.

"One of my co-workers talked me into doing this operation that was closer to the illegal side of things. Unjustly illegal, but still illegal," she said with slight embarrassment.

The man nodded understandingly as he pulled out a piece of paper from the inside pocket of his coat. "Well, if you're interested, call this number," he said finally as he handed the card over to her.

Elizabeth nodded as she studied the card. Her mystery man was named Rupert Giles and this "organization" he worked for/ was hoping to start was called the Watcher's Council. Elizabeth hardly could make sense of those words, certainly she had never heard of them but it was a job relating to something she had experience in. She smiled as she pocketed the card. "I'll think it over," she said with a positive face as a taxi finally pulled up. "I'll give you a call," she added as she allowed Ella to climb into the taxi before her. Once her daughter was inside, Elizabeth shoved the suitcases in then crawled in herself while the man went back to his victim.


	2. Chapter Two

Disclaimer: Nothing's mine…That pretty much goes without saying. But yet I still say it.

Chapter Two

"Rupert, who was that?" the female, another Watcher named Erica, asked curiously as the elder Watcher came back to where the newer Slayer was lying. "A friend of yours?"

Giles shook his head as he sat down, removing his glasses and cleaning them with his shirt. "Never met her in my life. At least not to my knowledge. But she might be what we need for the Council," Giles said as he placed his glasses back on his face.

Erica tucked a small bit of her black hair behind her ear as she looked through the traffic to see where exactly the ambulance was. She could hear that it was very nearby but she could not pinpoint its exact location. "What we need for the Council in what sense?" she asked curiously.

"Someone for the medical staff," Giles answered plainly.

"Medical staff?" Erica inquired politely. "The Watchers Council has a medical staff now?"

"Hopefully," Giles answered again as he continued tending to the young Slayer. She was new to the whole thing and she still had much to learn. But that would be why he and others would be training them.

"The ambulance is here," Erica informed Giles politely. Giles nodded as several EMTs came out and began helping the bleeding Slayer.

"Mommy, why did that man want to talk to you?" Ella asked curiously as the taxi pulled them up to the hotel.

"He wanted to give me a job," Elizabeth answered plainly as she started searching for money to pay the taxi driver with.

"Damn," the driver muttered. "First arrive here and already a job offer. Some might say it's fate that sent you here."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes as she handed him the money. "Others would say its carelessness that forced me to come here," she informed him as she began getting out of the cab. Ella followed her mother and clutched tightly to doll.

"Wow!" the young child began in astonishment. "This is like a castle! Is this really our new house?"

Elizabeth chuckled slightly as she shook her head. "No, sweetie, this is just a hotel. We're, um," she began as she tried to think of the best way to put what she wanted to say in language Ella could understand. "We're visiting these people until we find a place to live."

"I want to visit that nice man you work with," Ella said clearly. "Who lives here?"

"Not anyone I used to work with," Elizabeth answered as she, Ella, and Ella's doll began walking inside the hotel. "And this isn't anyone's home."

"Then how come there's a lot of people here?" Ella asked curiously. She looked around the hotel lobby, staring in amazement at all of the chairs and couches and desks. "And why don't people want to live here? It's pretty."

Elizabeth smiled at Ella once again as she grasped her daughter's hand tighter and began walking over to the front desk. For the time, she would have to ignore Ella's questions about hotels. It was not something she really wanted to do, but she saw it as necessary. If she did not, then the two of them would probably be standing in that lobby all night.

"Can I help you?" the woman behind the desk asked, looking expectantly up at Elizabeth. Her well-manicured nails were placed above the keyboard as she waited for the reply.

Elizabeth nodded. "Yes, we had a reservation under the name Elizabeth Corday," she informed the woman. "That's C-O-R-D-A-Y," she added for emphasis.

The woman nodded as she began typing the name into her computer. "Ah, here you are," she said triumphantly. "Room 819." She turned around in her chair and fished out the key. Upon turning back around, she gave that key to Elizabeth. "You'll want to take these elevators here on the left. Once you get to the eighth floor, it's the third room on your right."

Elizabeth smiled as she put the key into the pocket of her black pants. "Thank you for all your help," she told the woman. She grabbed hold of Ella's hand again and began leading her to the elevator.

"So why are we here Mommy?" Ella asked curiously. She stopped, forgetting about her question at the sight of the elevator. "Ooh! I wanna push the buttons!" she announced as she raced over and squeezed her way through the two other people standing there.

"Quite the hyper little child, isn't she?" a man dressed in a suit asked as Elizabeth approached them.

Elizabeth nodded. "That she is."

"My nieces are like that," the man empathized. "I'm Tom, by the way. Tom Channing," he introduced as he extended his right hand to Elizabeth in greeting.

"Elizabeth Corday, pleasure to meet you," Elizabeth responded as she shook his hand. The elevator dinged as it arrived.

"Mommy, it's here!" Ella said excitedly as she ran into the open elevator.

Elizabeth sighed in relief when she realized no one had been in the elevator that would need to get out. She quickly followed Ella inside and Tom followed her.

"I wanna push buttons," Ella declared. "What numbers?" she asked, curiously looking up at Elizabeth and Tom.

"Eight," Elizabeth answered before turning slightly towards Tom.

"Nine," Tom informed the young child.

Ella smiled, dutifully pushing the two buttons. She looked over at Tom. "Are we here to visit you? My mommy said we're visiting, but I don't know who we're visiting."

Tom smiled down at her. "I think you're here visiting all the sights that London has to offer. But right now you're sleeping in this building," he explained.

"Oh, ok," Ella said with a shrug. She sat down on the floor and began playing with her doll.

"Thank you," Elizabeth said sincerely to Tom. "I would have been up all night explaining this to her if it weren't for you." She smiled slightly as the elevator came to a stop at her floor. "This is my stop," she announced as she motioned for Ella to get off the floor. "Nice meeting you."

"Same goes about meeting you," Tom said as he watched the two get off the elevator. "Maybe I'll see you around?"

Elizabeth nodded. "Anything's possible," she told him before the elevator doors closed once again. She smiled as she began walking down the hallway towards their hotel room. "Ok, Ella, this is our room," she informed her daughter as she opened the door.

Ella further pushed the door open once it was unlocked. "Wow," she said in astonishment. "It's just like I dreamed. Big beds!" she announced happily as she rushed over to the closest bed. She quickly kicked her shoes off then began jumping on the bed.

"Ella Greene!" Elizabeth scolded. "Get off that bed this instant!"

"Come on, it's fun!" Ella pointed out. "You know you want to. Please?" she begged.

Elizabeth sighed as she rolled her eyes and took her shoes off. She walked up to the queen sized bed and crawled on. Ella grabbed her mother's hands and pulled her up. Before long, Elizabeth too was jumping on the bed.

"See, fun!" Ella announced proudly after a minute or so of both of them jumping.

Elizabeth nodded as she stopped. "Ella, sweetie, we have to stop now," she said as she sat down near the foot of the bed on the right side.

"Why?" Ella asked as she sat down next to her mother.

Elizabeth sighed as she tried to catch her breath. "Because we don't…we don't want to break the bed," she said before her breathing returned to its normal pattern. "We don't have enough money to buy a new one for the hotel. And it's time for someone to go to bed," she explained with a look at Ella. "There are some pajamas in the small suitcase for you."

Ella grumbled. "Do I haveta?" she asked.

Elizabeth nodded. "Yes, you have to. You can change in the bathroom. Mummy needs to make a phone call," she said as she walked over to the phone on the table between the two queen sized beds.

"Ok," Ella mumbled as she walked over to the suitcase and began taking out her clothes. After finding something she liked, the young girl walked into the bathroom and closed the door firmly behind her.

Elizabeth smiled as she sat down near the head of the other bed. Her right leg was crossed over her left one as she picked up the black receiver. She pulled out the business card and began dialing the number on it. After three rings she was greeted with the answering machine. Once it had finished its course, Elizabeth spoke. "Hello. This message is for Rupert Giles. It's Elizabeth Corday, the woman you met at the airport earlier. I'm just calling to let you know that I am interested in the job," she started.


	3. Chapter Three

Disclaimer: Sigh. If I had a dime for every time I had to say I steal other people's characters, than I would have a lot of money to do stuff with…

Chapter Three

Elizabeth let out a huge breath as her taxi pulled up in front of The Watcher's Council. It was a large building, she noted, so she obviously was joining a team as opposed to helping start one. They clearly had been running for at least a year.

"Lady, you getting out?" the driver asked in a slightly irritated voice.

Elizabeth sighed and nodded as she opened the door slowly. She placed her left high heel down on the concrete sidewalk, her right one only seconds behind. She handed the driver his money then pushed herself off of the soft taxi seat. She stood on the sidewalk and motioned for Ella to follow. She had been informed that this place had a day care service and that she was eligible to take advantage of it.

She quickly pulled Ella from the cab and watched as the driver sped away. She glanced down at her daughter, dressed in a casual pink dress with matching ribbons in her pigtails. Elizabeth quickly looked down at her own outfit, a light blue button down shirt with vertical darker blue stripes going down accompanied by a dark blue skirt and dark blue shoes with a two inch heel, to make sure everything was in order. This could possibly be the most important interview she would have to face and everything had to be perfect. She drew in a quick breath for confidence then grasped Ella's hand and began walking inside the building.

"Wow," Ella exclaimed in amazement as she looked around the lobby of the building. Her statement echoed Elizabeth's thoughts. The lobby alone was amazing. Two pairs of revolving glass doors marked the entrance and exit of the room. Large glass windows stretching nearly from ceiling to floor, Elizabeth noted. The floor was a gorgeous white marble. Two beautiful chandeliers hung from the ceiling, which had to be at least fifteen to twenty feet above Elizabeth's head. Large white lettering announcing "The Watcher's Council" proudly displayed above the main desk on the tan painted walls. Smaller lettering underneath is proclaimed "London, England".

"Can I help you?" the woman behind the main desk asked curiously. She rose from her leather chair and removed her glasses to get a better look at Elizabeth.

Elizabeth nodded as she walked towards the woman, her heels clicking against the hard floor as she did such. Ella's pats from her pink sneakers followed. "Hello," Elizabeth said in a formal and even tone of voice. "I'm Elizabeth Corday. I have an appointment to meet with Rupert Giles."

"Of course," the woman said as she hit a small button, unlocking the white door to the right of the main desk.

Elizabeth smiled, thanking the woman before heading over through the door. The sights behind the door amazed her. The organization was running smoothly. At least, she thought it was. Various people paraded through the halls, not stopping until they had reached their destination. The offices were clearly labeled properly. She stood there in momentary confusion as she tried to figure out where exactly she should be going.

One young and thin girl, Elizabeth placed her age at not much older than sixteen, approached, catching on to Elizabeth's confusion. She was only dressed in a green t-shirt and black sweatpants with sneakers, but she seemed friendly. "Hi," she greeted as she extended her hand out. "I'm Kaleigh. Do you need help finding someone?" she asked curiously in an American accent.

"Elizabeth," Elizabeth introduced herself as she shook Kaleigh's hand. "And this is Ella. I need to take her to the daycare part of this place and then I need to find Rupert Giles."

Kaleigh's green eyes widened with anticipation. "Oh, so you're a new Slayer?" she asked curiously. She smiled and began walking down the halls. "You seem a little old, but don't worry. There are older ones."

"A what?" Elizabeth asked in confusion as she reluctantly followed this teenager.

"Oh," Kaleigh began, nodding understandably. "You don't know why you're here. Well, don't worry. It seems scary at first, but soon you'll be able to kill vampires and demons naturally. The trainers are very good here."

"Vampires and demons?" Elizabeth asked as she raised an eyebrow at the teenager. She wondered if this was why her medical expertise was needed for this place. She was someone who could help those who were insane. At least to some extent. "Are you feeling all right?"

Kaleigh nodded. "I know it seems a bit surreal at first, but you get used to it."

"Used to hallucinations?" Elizabeth asked as she kept following the girl.

Kaleigh laughed. "I felt the same way when I first started working here. But it all makes sense, once you think about it."

"You work here?" Elizabeth asked as she scanned Kaleigh up and down. "You seem so young and not to mention American."

"Oh, I'm nothing!" Kaleigh announced as she stopped momentarily to pull her shoulder-length hair into a small ponytail. "Sorry, my Watcher gets fussy when my hair's down," she apologized as she began leading Elizabeth down another hallway. "But like I was saying. As soon as the Slayers reach thirteen, they come here to train. The other girls are just too young." She gestured down at Ella. "I mean, would you send her away to train in a job that could kill her at this age?"

"Job that could kill her?" Elizabeth asked in a horrified voice. "What are you, an army or something?"

Kaleigh shrugged. "You could say that, I suppose. But it's more special than that. No drafts, you just get chosen."

"Chosen to do what?" Elizabeth asked. She still had her doubts that this girl was completely sane. The things she was saying…

"Fight the forces of evil," Kaleigh answered plainly.

"Terrorists?" Elizabeth asked.

Kaleigh shook her head. "Not the natural evils. More like supernatural. The vampires, demons, monsters…" She gasped as she glanced up at Elizabeth. "I'm sorry this is coming as such a shock. But Giles wouldn't explain it any better. I heard he nearly scared off this one Chinese Slayer when he was over in Sunnydale."

"Sunnydale?" Elizabeth asked.

"The only Hellmouth to be successfully shut down. It happened sometime in May 2003. That was when our destinies changed. This witch did a spell that took any potential Slayers and made them Slayers. Since then, the ones who were old enough started being sent to the closer Council, either here or Rome as of now. That's why you're here," Kaleigh explained proudly.

"I thought I was here to start up a medical facility here," Elizabeth said, half to herself.

Kaleigh's mouth widened into an 'O' shape. "Oh," she began slowly. "You're not a Slayer."

"What the hell is a Slayer?" Elizabeth asked in frustration. "What is this place?"

"It's a pretty building," Ella declared proudly. "Like that other place we visited."

Elizabeth ignored her daughter's input and kept staring at Kaleigh. The teenager said nothing, only opened one of the doors. "Um, this is the daycare," she said. "You can drop your daughter off. I think it would be best if Giles explained the rest to you," she said as she rushed towards the gym.

The woman in charge of the daycare walked over towards Elizabeth. "You're new," she noted. She was dressed just as casually as Kaleigh had been and her name sticker read 'Hello my name is Miss Brenda'. "Who is this little angel?" she asked as she knelt down so she was closer to Ella's level.

Ella beamed, happy with the attention. "My name's Ella," she declared as she rushed into the room. All sorts of toys were scattered throughout and there were other children there, unlike the hotel.

Miss Brenda smiled and looked up at Elizabeth. "We'll watch her for you while you work. It's our goal," she said as if reciting. She turned around for moment as she began searching through a tote bag. Once gathering what she was searching for, she handed the papers to Elizabeth. "I'll just need you to fill these out first."

"Of course," Elizabeth noted as she took a pen out from her purse and began filling them out. It was fairly standard, just asking about Ella's health history, whether or not she had allergies, and emergency numbers. Elizabeth filled it out fairly quickly. She frowned, noticing the last question, asking about Ella's blood type. "Excuse me, why is this especially important?" she asked. She noted that it was unavoidable and it was in bolded type.

"Just in case we should be attacked by vampires," Miss Brenda commented. "Now just answer it and then you can start your busy day."

Elizabeth looked at her with the same slightly suspicious glace she had given Kaleigh. But she did as she was told and handed the forms to the woman. "Could you tell me where I could find Rupert Giles, please?" she asked as she stepped out of the room and stood on the gray carpet in the hallway.

Miss Brenda nodded. "Ok, keep going straight for a while," she directed. "Then make a left when you come to the next hallway and keep going down. You'll see a gym on the left. Directly across from that will be an elevator. Go into it and hit the highest number. When you get out, you'll be in the outer part of his office."

Elizabeth nodded, taking the information in. She decided not to question the woman on why this place had a gym in it. Instead she thanked her and began walking down the hallway. As she walked, she wondered what she was really getting herself into. The two personnel she had actually had a semi-decent conversation with had both mentioned vampires. Surely not everyone in this building was insane. Except for the weirdness of vampires, demons, Slayers, and Hellmouths, they seemed normal.

Elizabeth turned and began heading down the hallway that would take her to the elevator. On her way she saw other people. Two men were talking on her right. Although she knew it was wrong, she could not help but find herself walking a bit slower to try and catch their conversation to see if they were weird or not. She shrugged, finding nothing out of the ordinary about a conversation in which they were planning to meet up for a meeting later.

She shrugged as she saw the gym on her left. The windows to the gym were glass, therefore perfectly transparent. She peeked inside, noticing a variety of young women between the ages of thirteen and mid-thirties training. Elder men or women stood near them with clipboards, presumably taking notes on the girls' training habits. Elizabeth found it slightly odd, but decided not to worry about it as she walked over towards the elevator. She hit the 'up' arrow and within seconds the doors opened. She scanned the buttons, searching for the highest number. Once hitting it, the elevator moved up.

It was a smooth ride up, no one else needed to get on. A minute later, the doors opened again and there Elizabeth was in the outer part of Rupert Giles's office. She walked over to Giles's secretary, a young man in his late twenties Elizabeth guessed. "Hi, I'm Elizabeth Corday. I have an appointment to meet with Rupert Giles," she informed him.

The man nodded. "Very well, go on in."

Elizabeth nodded as she walked over to the wooden door. She slowly turned the cold, metal doorknob and then pushed the door open. She then closed it quietly. "Mr. Giles?" she asked softly.

Giles turned around in his desk. "Elizabeth, I presume," he said before putting his glasses on. "Ah, there you are. Please, have a seat."

Elizabeth nodded as she walked over to his desk. "One question before we begin," she said as she approached the chair.

"Go ahead," Giles prompted.

"What the hell is this place? Vampires, demons, Slayers, Hellmouths?"


	4. Chapter Four

Disclaimer: Anything familiar is not my property.

Chapter Four

"Oh dear Lord," Giles exclaimed as he looked over at Elizabeth in shock. "How did you know about all of that?"

Elizabeth looked at him with the same amount of shock. "So you're not denying it then?"

"Ok," Giles began as he rose from his desk, placing his glasses on top of it. "I know this seems like its unrealistic and it's coming as a huge shock to you, but it is in fact true. Vampires, demons, monsters, and all of that--it's all real.

"As long as the earth has been here, there has been good and evil. The evil in the form of demons and vampires. The good came in the form of the Slayer. She alone will fight the vampires, demons, and forces of darkness. When one dies, the next one is Chosen.

"That changed about a year and a half ago. On the Hellmouth, a portal between our dimensions and demon dimensions, of Sunnydale the current Slayer Buffy had an idea that would stop the First Evil. She said using the power of a scythe and an immensely powerful witch, any girl who could be a Slayer, will be a Slayer. Since then, we've been locating these girls and training them through various Councils."

"Um…ok," Elizabeth said as she tried to take in the information. Most of it was still a bit surreal to her. It sort of made sense. If this guy was trying to make a new, supernatural television show, then he would have a very good back-story to it. But if it was actually present in her world…

Elizabeth let out a large sigh. She would need more time to think this job offer through. "I'm sure you're right, and you would be a pleasure to work with, but right now I don't know if I can work with people who believe in this."

"Miss Corday, it's not a matter of faith," Giles said as he reached for a large book behind his desk. He blew small bits of dust off it before handing it to Elizabeth. "There's a variety of demons in there. All of them real."

Elizabeth gave Giles a suspicious glance. She looked through and saw a multifarious amount of demons. Demons with horns, with spikes, covered in green goo. Demons that were small and demons that were tall. "And by working here, I would be susceptible to getting attacked by these things?"

"Just as susceptible as you would working anywhere else," Giles informed her. "I've had the numbers done."

"But if I work here, I'll be trained to fight them?"

Giles shrugged. "In a way, yes. All of our employees know the basics. But you're not chosen to fight them and save the world. You're job is to save those who save the world. The fate of the medical department is the only thing you're in charge of."

Giles carefully sat back down in his chair. "I know this is a lot of information to come flying at you, so I'll give you another few days to think this offer over," he told her. He reached for a post-it pad and a pen. "But here's an idea of what your salary would be," he said as he pushed the pad of paper across towards Elizabeth. "On a yearly basis," Giles added.

Elizabeth's eyes widened as she looked at the six-figure number. Not only were there six numbers written on the page, but they were large numbers. "Are you serious?" she asked.

Giles nodded. "Only because you are new. As you get more experienced in dealing with more supernatural accidents, it will raise. We'll give you a few days to think it over."

"A few days?" Elizabeth asked in shock. "I only need a few seconds. I'll take it."


	5. Chapter Five

Disclaimer: It's all stolen characters and whatnot. _Buffy_ is property of Joss Whedon, and _ER _is property of Michael Crighton.

Chapter Five

"You're sure about this?" Giles asked the woman curiously. He was aware of her skills to some extent and knew that she would be excellent for this project, but he was also aware of her hesitance to take in the more supernatural part of the world.

Elizabeth nodded seriously. "This is something I'm good at. I love it, and the money's good," she told Giles. "Weirdness aside, I feel this is where I belong."

"As do I," Giles agreed. "That's why I'm hiring you." He pushed his chair slightly away from his desk and began searching the top drawer of it for something. Upon his discovery, he pulled his chair back and straightened himself. "But first there are a few things we need to discuss."

Elizabeth nodded again. "I had a feeling there would be." She sighed heavily. "You need to know what happened back in Chicago."

"That would be a good place to start," Giles informed her. "I'm very certain you're excellent at what you do, but technically you're without a license to practice medicine, and that's something we need to talk about."

Elizabeth drew in a deep breath. "Right. It was an operation," she began.

Hours had passed before Elizabeth was finished in Giles's office. She had discussed almost everything with him- the operation, her work experience at County, Ella. She left his office with a job and several pieces of paper regarding how things at the Watchers Council went. Included in those papers was a map of the building, something Elizabeth was very grateful to have. She was also aware of when there would be some training so that she could learn to fight off any stray demon or vampire that might attack her. As far as Elizabeth was concerned, she was fully prepared to start working here.

Giles followed her out. "Um, Ms. Corday," he called after her.

Elizabeth turned around abruptly. "Did I forget something?" she asked almost worriedly. She quickly looked at herself. She thought she had all the necessary papers, and she did not bring a purse.

Giles shook his head. "Oh, nothing like that," he assured her. This was the part that made him nervous. The last person he had tried to have this conversation with was Jenny, and that went horribly for the both of them. "I just don't have any more plans today and, um, was wondering if you would like a tour of the building. I know it can be confusing."

Elizabeth smiled slightly at the notion. "Sure, that'd be nice," she said. "I'd just like to check on Ella first."

"Of course," Giles said as he walked over towards the elevator and hit the down button. "This should only take a few seconds," he added.

Elizabeth walked up next to him. "How long have you been doing this?" she asked curiously in an attempt to make small talk. As a surgeon, she never really bothered to talk with the patients. She was just handed a case from which she would solve to the best of her ability. She could not remember the last time she tried to do this with a man.

"Running the Council or being a Watcher?" Giles asked as the elevator dinged to signal its arrival.

"Either," Elizabeth responded as she entered the elevator. "Both," she corrected a moment later.

Giles smiled as he hit the ground level button. "I've been training to be a Watcher from when I was ten. I was assigned to a Slayer in 1997 when I moved to Sunnydale, California. She was a great girl. Nothing stopped her, not even death."

Elizabeth's eyes widened slightly at this. "Not even death?" she questioned.

"CPR," Giles said for clarification. "The first time, anyway."

"She died again?" Elizabeth asked in confusion.

"Trying to close a mystical portal," Giles said with a nod. "The portal closed, but at a price. That was in 2001. A few months after I returned to England, only to find out that her friends, one of which is an incredibly powerful witch, yes witches are real, have succeeded in bringing her back to life through magicks. I returned to Sunnydale for a month or two then headed back to England for what I presumed to be ever. This powerful witch's girlfriend, yes lesbians are real, died and she wanted revenge, so she tried to end the world. I came back to Sunnydale to help her. Once the apocalypse was averted, I took her back to England for some counseling. A major apocalypse was scheduled to occur. The Watchers Council blew up, and I returned back and fought along with the Slayer and army of Potential Slayers. That witch, fully recovered now, did a spell to make all the Potentials Slayers, and together we stopped the apocalypse. Sunnydale blew up. We hung out in Los Angeles for a little bit. That fall I came to London and rebuilt the Watcher's Council." Giles let out a huge breath as the elevator reached the ground floor. "After you," he said as he waited for Elizabeth to exit the elevator. He smiled at her as he followed. "So that's my life in three hundred words or less. What about you?"

Elizabeth chuckled slightly at how fast Giles had spoken about his life. "Impressive," she commented as the two of them began walking past the gym towards the day care center.

"That's not what I asked," Giles reminded her.

"Well, you know the basics," Elizabeth reminded him as she followed Giles. She vaguely recalled these hallways, but she was uncertain of where she was going. "I was born and raised here in London. I came to America on a fellowship, which got cancelled, so I had to work as an intern. After a year, I was promoted to Associate Chief of Surgery. I met my future husband Mark at that hospital, and we married and had Ella. Of course it was his second marriage, so I also have a stepdaughter Rachel back in the States. Mark died a few years ago, yes cancer is real, and there hasn't been anyone serious since then. A few months ago a co-worker coaxed me into performing an unjustly illegal surgery. After that, I was not fired from working at the hospital, but my license was taken and my position was much lower, so I decided to quit and come back to England. I saw that woman in the airport, and you know what happened after that," Elizabeth concluded as she approached the day care portion of the Council. Not wanting to spend a whole lot of time down there, Elizabeth simply peeked her head through the window to check on Ella. Her young daughter was in there happily playing with a few other children. Elizabeth took that as a good sign and turned back to Giles. "You mentioned something about a tour?" she asked.

Giles nodded. "That I did," he affirmed as the two of them began walking. "There's not many things on the ground level. The day care's here and the big gyms and some smaller training rooms." He guided Elizabeth over towards one of the elevators. He hit the up button and waited two seconds for the elevator to arrive. "You want to start at the top and work your way down or start at the bottom and work your way up?" he asked as the two stepped into the couple.

Elizabeth shrugged. "Doesn't really matter. Since we're already on the ground floor, I guess bottom working up," she told him as she hit the second floor button.

"As you wish," Giles said as the elevator approached the second floor. The first thing they walked out into was a large lobby. It was not as large as the formal lobby on the ground floor, but it was still pretty impressive. Few couches and chairs lined the walls and parts of the room. A large screen television set to the news was along the left wall. Large ceiling to floor windows lined the wall directly in front of Elizabeth. "This is the Watcher's Lobby and Office," Giles announced. "If you have any message for any one of our 201 Watchers, you can leave it here."

"It's gorgeous," Elizabeth exclaimed in awe as she walked over towards the right wall. On the wall were numerous pictures and names. Over all the pictures hung a small golden plaque reading 'For those who died in battle, may you rest in peace'.

"I'm guessing these are the ones we lost," Elizabeth noted sadly. She studied some of the pictures. For the most part, the deceased were young. Few looked old enough to possibly be over forty. "How many of them did you know?" she asked curiously.

Giles nodded at her first statement. "Oh, um, most of them," he answered.

"Sorry," Elizabeth said comfortingly. She studied some of the pictures. Underneath the picture was the name of the person, the years they had lived, and how they were involved with the Council. Most of them were listed as 'Slayer' or 'Potential Slayer'. Those were the titles Elizabeth was most familiar with. "They're all so young," she commented softly.

Giles nodded again. "It's the one part of my job I hate," he said. "I guess you can relate," he added.

"A bit too well," Elizabeth confirmed. "That was the part about Mark's death that bothered me the most- the fact that there was nothing I could do to save him."

"I know the feeling," Giles said as he began pulling Elizabeth away from the wall. "It's how I felt when Jenny was murdered."

"Wife?" Elizabeth questioned curiously. "I'm just curious," she added. "If you don't want to talk about her, I completely understand."

Giles shook his head. "No, it's fine. It happened nearly seven years ago," he said as he led Elizabeth down one of the hallways. "She was my girlfriend. Murdered by a vampire."

"Sorry," Elizabeth said sympathetically. She looked around the hallway for a distraction. "Oh, what's this room?" she asked as she gestured at the large room at the end of the hallway.

"Heaven," Giles said with a small smile. "Heaven on Earth," he said as he walked down to the room and opened the doors. "Also known as the library," he said as he stepped inside.

"Heaven on Earth?" Elizabeth questioned before her entry. "Somehow I doubt" Her words were cut off as she entered the library. It was huge. Shelves stretching up to the thirty-foot ceiling were filled with all sorts of books, ranging from child's books to the most secret demonology books. "I stand corrected," she whispered.

"And not a computer in sight," Giles said with a small smile. "We don't need modern technology to do research."

The sound of footsteps patted against the carpeted floor. They were coming from behind Elizabeth and Giles. "Um, Mr. Giles?" the mystery person asked.

"Yes?" Giles asked as he turned around. He rolled his eyes slightly at the Watcher he was in contact with- Charles Travers. Charles was the nephew of Quentin Travers, the one Watcher Giles loathed beyond all others. He would not even considered offering this boy a position at the Council, but at the time the Council was severely understaffed, and Charles had some familiarity with the demon world. "What do you want?" Giles asked through gritted teeth.

"Faith's back with the new batch," Charles informed Giles. "Some of who are in rough shape," he added. He studied Elizabeth closely. "You the doc?" he asked.

Elizabeth nodded slightly. "Yes, I suppose I am."

"Your up," Charles said as he turned around and left the library.


	6. Chapter Six

Disclaimer: Think of some cool way to say that I don't own these characters and pretend I said it.

Chapter Six

Elizabeth rushed down the hallway as quickly as she could, which was not that fast considering she had no idea where she was headed. Giles was right behind her calling out instructions. "Left," he said as they approached a corner.

Elizabeth dutifully obeyed and soon enough she came in contact with the group of patients. None of them appeared to be badly injured, but she could not know that without taking a closer look. "How many are there?" she asked as she made her way to the front of the group.

"Ten, all relatively minor," came the answer from the back of the room. A woman who looked older than the rest was seated lopsided in one of the chairs. Her dark drown hair attempted to cover her dislocated shoulder, but Elizabeth noticed it.

"Do you want some morphine for that?" Elizabeth asked as she began walking back to the woman. She then gasped and turned back to Giles. "We do have morphine, right?" she asked.

Giles nodded slightly. "To some extent," he answered. "To some extent, we have a lot of the more common drugs. Later tonight we need to do an inventory to figure out what else we need," he informed Elizabeth.

"Of course," Elizabeth said before sitting down next to the woman. "Let me see," she commanded gently.

The woman shook her head. "I've got to get back. I'll just hit it against a wall or something. Worked fine in jail," she announced as she stood up from the chair. "You should worry about those crybabies who have never seen a vampire," she said as she pointed a finger at the ten younger scared-looking girls.

"I should take a look," Elizabeth began.

"I'm five by five here, doc," the woman said as she started walking down the hall. "Really. Take care of them." With that, the woman was gone.

Elizabeth walked over to her first patient. None of the women in the room seemed to be in more danger than another, so she would just work on them as she approached. She knelt down in front of the first patient before looking back at Giles. "Is everyone going to be like that?" she asked as she examined the girl's cut on her left hand.

"That's just Faith," Giles explained. "She's been a Slayer since 1998, and she's been in jail. Not much can stop that girl."

"Is she the one who died?" Elizabeth asked as she injected some medicine next to the girl's cut. "This will numb your hand so I can stitch up the wound," she explained. "I'll be right back," she added as she moved on to the next patient.

Giles shook his head. Before he could answer, one of the new Slayers was talking. "No, the one who died was Buffy. She doesn't come here. She's in Rome screwing a vampire," the new Slayer explained. "I'm Clarissa," she added. "You can ask me anything about past Slayers and Scoobies."

"Scoobies?" Elizabeth questioned as she started wrapping up a sprained wrist. "Isn't that one of the shows that my daughter watches?"

"That's where the name came from," Clarissa explained. "Scoobies are the people who help Slayers. They weren't really allowed, but Buffy had friends who helped her. Her friend Xander came up with the name," she recited.

"You really do explain it all," Elizabeth muttered as she moved on to her next patient. "Do you have a chart with all these people or something?" she asked as she looked back up at Giles.

Giles nodded slightly. "Actually, we do," he admitted. "I can print you a copy if you want," he offered. "It might be a bit confusing at first, but you're a smart girl. I'm sure you'll figure it out."

"Thank you," Elizabeth said sincerely as she moved back to her first patient. "Numb?" she asked. The girl nodded. "Ok," Elizabeth began. "This might look a bit gross, but you won't feel a thing," she explained before she began sutchering the wound.

An hour later, Elizabeth had finished. She knew that they were all easy cases, but she would have appreciated help. She sighed as she finished cleaning up. She walked over to Giles. "You said something about an inventory," she began.

"Right now?" Giles asked as he looked down at her. "You look exhausted. Some coffee first, perhaps?" he offered.

Elizabeth thought the concept over. "How good is the coffee here?" she asked. "I only ask because the coffee at County was horrible."

"I was actually thinking at this coffee shop across the street," Giles said as the two of them started walking towards the elevators. "My treat," he added as he pushed the down button.

"Sure," Elizabeth agreed as she walked into the open elevator. "Perhaps you could explain to me who some of these people are," she added. "More specifically, what I need to know about them."

Giles nodded as he followed Elizabeth. "That could be arranged," he told her. "Well, I can't keep track of the new Slayers. We get some each week and after working here for over a year now, they kind of all blend together. Most of the non-English speaking ones go to the Council in Rome."

"That's where the other big Slayer is?" Elizabeth questioned. She heard a lot of talk while treating the girls, and now she was trying to make sense of it all.

"If you mean big in the sense of important, then yes," Giles answered. He reached into his pants and pulled out his wallet. "But if you mean big in size, then hardly," he explained as he found a small wallet-sized picture of Buffy. "That's Buffy," he explained.

"Oh," Elizabeth said as she looked at the photograph. "Is there anyone else in there whose name I kept hearing up there?" she asked. "Xander? Willow?" she asked.

Giles nodded. "Of course." He flipped through the photographs until he found one of the four core Scoobies-himself, Buffy, Willow, and Xander. The picture was old. It must have been when Buffy first moved to Sunnydale. Before the stuff with Angel, Spike and Dru, Jenny, Dawn, etc. It was simple. "Of course, this is an old picture, but I like it," he explained. "It reminds me of happier times."

Elizabeth nodded. "I feel the same way. Sure, I have photos of Ella and me, and they are adorable, but the ones I carry around with me have Mark in them. Some even have Rachel." She sighed as the elevator doors opened on the ground floor. "Ok, your lead," she informed Mark as she gestured to the hallway outside the elevator.

Giles smiled at her and walked out. Elizabeth followed right behind. The two of them walked through the hallway and lobby until they were outside. "The coffee shop's right there," Giles said as he pointed across the street.

Elizabeth nodded. "Looks promising," she noted. "Ready?" she asked as she began walking towards the street.

"Ready," Giles responded as he followed her. The two of them glanced at both sides of the road before rushing across the street to the coffee shop.


	7. Chapter Seven

Disclaimer: I still do not own any of these characters, situations, or anything of the sorts. I wish I did, but I don't.

Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who reads this, and especially to everyone who reviews. I know it's one of the more popular stories I have, so I'll try to update soon. Really soon. Until then, just enjoy and review.

Chapter Seven

Elizabeth was the first to enter the coffee shop. The warm, welcoming scent of fresh coffee filled her body as she stepped further into the place to allow Giles to follow her. "Cozy little place you've got here," she noted as she walked up the relatively short line. There were a few people in front of her, but considering the fact that most people were getting out of work for the day, the lines were not as bad as they could be.

"It gets the job done," Giles told her. "I'm more of a tea person myself, but as a Scooby I've had to drink coffee. This place does a decent job."

"You don't think it's weird that you refer to yourself as a cartoon character?" Elizabeth asked him as she took a few steps forward in the line.

Giles shrugged. "It was not my idea to use the name in the first place," he began, "but it grows on you," he admitted. "You don't have to use it if you don't like," he added with a small shrug.

The corners of Elizabeth's mouth turned up into a smile. "Do you mean that?" she asked.

"It's not that hard a concept," Giles told her. "Although I don't really know what else we'd call you…"

Elizabeth shook her head. "No, not the name. Do you mean that I'm part of your group?" Just saying that felt good.

"I would say so. You are working for us, and you would be spending a great deal of time with us, at least in the beginning," Giles was saying. He wanted to tell her more. He wanted to tell her that of course he considered her part of the team. She would be more valuable than any Slayer could ever be. Maybe not that far, but she was an irreplaceable part of the team. He needed her.

He glanced down at Elizabeth, stunned by her silence. "We don't have a huge orientation ceremony," he told her.

"And I wasn't expecting one," Elizabeth responded as she kept moving towards the counter at the coffee shop.

Giles glanced down at her. "You are handling this remarkably well," he told her.

Elizabeth shrugged. "I've seen some pretty weird things back at County. This actually offers an explanation for some of it," she said as she kept her focus on the menu. She could not decide what she wanted to drink.

"Still," Giles said. "It can be extremely frightening."

"I guess it hasn't hit me yet," Elizabeth remarked. "I've only seen the result of the attacks, not the cause of it. Things would be a lot different if my flight had landed twenty minutes earlier."

"I understand," Giles told her. "And I'll protect you no matter what," he added. "Oh, that brings me to something I meant to ask you earlier. Where are you staying?"

"Hotel," Elizabeth answered plainly. "Why?"

Giles smiled. "Save the bills. You'll get reimbursed."

Elizabeth smiled. "Cool," she said as she walked up to the counter to order. "What's next?" she asked as she turned back to Giles.

Giles frowned slightly. "Never ask that question," he told her.

"Why?" Elizabeth asked. The confusion was apparent both in her voice and on her face.

At that moment, the door was ripped off. Its offender was something large. It could not entirely be seen, but it growled into the shop. The force knocked one of the tables over before the thing walked inside. It was about ten feet in height, and it had large spikes going down its back. It growled again.

"That's why," Giles said as he stepped in front of her. "Now get down."


End file.
